Why Now?
by Dreaming-of-Stars
Summary: This is my first TT fanfic so please be nice. Beast Boy finds out about Ravens's healing powers, but what is at first concern may turn to love. Does he have competition though? BBxRae RaexRob
1. Secrets Revealed

a/n: I don't (sadly) own any part of Teen Titans (I would be sooooo happy to own Robin or Beast Boy, either one) and would appreciate staying out of jail! ; p

**Chapter One**

Beast Boy woke up with a record breaking headache. The battle from the day before had been rough and he had only let Raven heal the most pressing of his injuries; a broken leg and some cracked ribs. Even though it tore him to pieces letting her do it at all. Ever since he found out that when Raven heals, the pain becomes her own, he has been reluctant to let her heal him. Sometimes she's even had to chase him down, on Robin's orders of course, not out of concern for him. He even remembered the day that he found out her secret.

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He was in the library looking for a book on animals that Robin had suggested intent on trying some of them out, when the door hissed open.

"Stupid Beast Boy! Why does he insist on coming to me for all his stupid little bruises and scratches! Why can't he heal like everyone else?"

At the mention of his name he froze. He knew that he shouldn't be eavesdropping, but he wanted to know why Raven was so mad at him seeing as they hadn't fought yet today. He peeked between some books and what he saw shocked him. Raven was clutching her left hip like it had a large bruise on it, though Beast Boy couldn't remember where she could have gotten one. She hobbled over to a chair and sat down.

It finally dawned on him. Though some deem Beast Boy too dense to understand most things, (Raven included) he was not completely stupid. Earlier that day he and Cyborg were playing an unusually vicious game of Stankball. Cyborg had caught Beast Boy unawares, very rare for a boy with animal senses, and tackled him. Beast Boy had landed very painfully on his left hip and almost immediately it had developed into a bruise that almost completely covered his entire thigh.

After yelling at Cyborg for nearly crushing him, though he wasn't really all that mad since that was basically the whole idea of Stankball, he went to find Raven to see if she could heal him so he could get back to his game with Cyborg. When he found her and asked, she sighed, but healed him without hesitation then sent him on his way. Afterward he couldn't find Cyborg and upon remembering Robin's recommendation he headed off to the library. That explained his situation quit nicely. He put Raven's comment and the events of that morning together and quickly figured it all out.

He stepped out from behind the bookcase.

"Raven what's the matter? You look like you're in pain." He decided to play dumb in case she decided she wanted to send him to a different dimension like she so often threatened. She looked up in surprise and he could see her eye twitch in her effort to keep her anger in check.

"Oh it's nothing really...I...um...ran into one of my tables in my room." She made up a quick lie.

"Well can't you just heal yourself then?" He might just be able to trick her into telling him.

"No my healing powers don't exactly work that way. I only heal myself if I'm in serious danger." Or not. He decided to just go ahead and lay his cards on the table.

"Raven does it really hurt you to heal us?" He blurted out.

"What gave you that idea?" Raven asked in her usual monotone.

"Well let's see, not two hours ago I got smashed into the floor by Cyborg and almost got my hip crushed in the process. I came to you to heal me and you did. I saw you come in here limping and lamenting about me always coming to you for minor injuries. That really wouldn't have alerted me to anything, you're always mad at me for something. The things that lead me to this conclusion are that it was my left hip that was injured and you came in clutching _your_ left hip and limping." He could tell he hit the jackpot when she turned her face from him.

"I already told you I ran into one of my tables." She lied feebly.

"Raven a table couldn't have caused that bad of a limp." Beast Boy told her softly.

"All right, you're right. Please don't tell the rest of the team though okay?" she asked him.

_Wow that was a bit easier then I thought. Maybe it's been weighing on her and she just wanted to tell someone_.

"I promise I won't tell, but why haven't you? I mean if it hurts you to heal us why do you continue to heal us?" he asked exasperated.

"Would you come to me to be healed if you knew it hurt me?"

"No." he admitted.

"Also, we can't afford to have broken bones that could take months to heal, when I can do it in minutes." She explained.

"But then you have the pain of those broken bones! Doesn't it hinder you like a broken bone would hinder us?" Beast Boy asked taking a seat across from her.

"No," she stated simply, "I've been healing since I was little; I've become accustomed to it by now."

"Obviously not Rae! I saw you hobble in here, you were plainly in pain."

Why was she even telling Beast Boy this? She had hidden this successfully for so long and now here she was spilling it to Beast Boy of all people.

"Okay, so maybe I'm not as accustomed to it then I'd like to believe, but I can still handle it."

"Are you sure?" he asked concern evident on his face. It was weird; Raven had never seen Beast Boy this serious...well...ever!

"Yes, I'm sure. Now here's the book you were looking for. Can you leave me alone for awhile, I'd like to meditate."

"Hey, wow, how did you know I was looking for this book?" he asked.

"I figured that was the only logical explanation for you being in a library, ever."

"Thanks Rae." He stood up to leave and was almost to the door when Raven stopped him.

"You know, I always thought that it would be Robin who would figure it out first, seeing as he's the detective of the group." Beast Boy just smiled at her and turned around.

"Oh and Beast Boy..."

"Yeah?" he looked over his shoulder expectantly.

"Don't call me Rae." She didn't even open her eyes.


	2. A Little Closer

a/n- still sadly don't own anything to do with Teen Titans

sniff can't I have them for my birthday?...No?...okay FINE THEN!

**Moving Mountains**: Thank you soo much for reviewing...everyone follow along and do as she does!

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**Chapter Two: A little Closer**

**B.B.'s POV**

Since I found out about her powers, I just haven't felt comfortable asking her to heal me. I can live with a little discomfort when she has to deal with the pain of broken bones and deep cuts. Every time I saw her heal I just wanted to tell the team about it. If I did, though, Raven would definitely send me to that other dimension that she always threatens us with.

Today was one of the days that I had to suck it up and ask her to heal me. The battle had been surprisingly tough considering it was only against Kitten and Fang. I have to admit though that Fang can give quit a kick when he feels like it. We were doing some hand to hand combat when I heard Starfire scream.

"Beast Boy, look out!"

That distracted me from Fang because when I looked up Kitten was running at me with a chair in her hands. She was more than happy to go pro wrestler on my face with that stupid chair. After my head cleared, Fang decided it was his turn again. Having my brains almost scrambled, my reflexes weren't as good as they usually are. Fang came at me with all he had.

"Get your hands off of my girl you little booger!"

Yeah right, like I would want to touch his nasty girl! Besides, only Cy can make fun of my skin color! Anyways, he kicked me pretty good in the chest cracking four of my ribs and when I landed, well let's just say I wasn't any kind of cat at the moment. Then Robin being the great leader that he is, got mad and decided to go all kung-fu. Well that resulted in Fang being knocked out, on top of me. And that resulted in the breaking of my leg. Afterward Robin couldn't stop apologizing. That got really old really quick.

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**Rae's POV**

I could tell that Beast Boy was reluctant to see me when he got hurt after he learned about me. It wasn't all that hard to figure out since whenever I asked if he was hurt he would get all red and quickly stammer out a 'no' and then leave. I felt really bad that he wouldn't come to me anymore when he was hurt. I know that I complained that he kept coming to me with stupid little injuries, but I liked the fact that I could heal him. It was kinda funny how much Robin was apologizing for being the cause of Beast Boy's broken leg.

"Robin, stop apologizing. You're giving me a headache." I told him. He looked slightly sheepish when he said,

"Sorry Raven, I forgot that you can heal. I was worried that Beast Boy would have to suffer for awhile before he got healed and I felt bad for that."

"Whatever," I stated with my usual non-enthusiasm, "Can you leave us alone now, so I can heal him?"

"Oh. Yeah, sorry." Finally he left us.

"I'm sorry that I have to put you through this Raven." Beast Boy's soft voice was behind my left shoulder.

"Beast Boy, that's my job. I save innocent people and I heal you guys. If I didn't do that, then we wouldn't be able to help as many people as we do because everyone would have to wait and heal. We've already been through this." I turned around to face him. He was sitting on one of the medical bay tables and his eyes were downcast. I could tell he really felt bad for having me heal him.

"Yeah, but it doesn't make it any less painful for you does it? How long are you in pain? Does it last like if you had broken your leg?"

"Yes, it's still painful, it lasts about a week, and no it doesn't last as if I had broken my leg; although it hurts like it." I added the last under my breath after I turned away from him hoping that he wouldn't hear it.

"Does it really? I don't want you to heal me if that's true." No such luck. Curse those big ears!

"Beast Boy! Deal with it! You are going to get healed whether you like it or not, now come here!" I gave him my famous death glare.

"Fine, but I'm only letting you do this because you're giving me the eye. I don't want anymore broken bones that you'll have to heal."

"Who said I'd heal you after I got done with you?" I asked nonchalantly. I could hear him gulp.

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**B.B.'s POV**

I didn't know if she was joking or not, but I sure hoped that she was. I giggled nervously and just sat there waiting for her to heal me.

"Tell me what hurts." I heard her voice even though she hadn't turned around. I decided to only tell her what really hurt.

"Um, my leg and my ribs. I think Fang cracked at least four of them."

"There isn't anything else? Even if it's a headache you need to tell me. You might have internal bleeding or something like that." She'd finally turned around to face me again. There was no way I was going to tell her about my headache. I wasn't going to give her anything that she didn't need to have.

"Nope, just my leg and ribs," she gave me another glare," I promise." I had my fingers crossed.

"Okay, fine, I trust you're telling me the truth. You might want to close your eyes, though, this is going to hurt more than me healing a bruise since your bones have to realign and knit." I closed my eyes and held my breath. I gasped when her hands touched my leg. It had been broken just below the knee and I could feel one of her hands supporting my leg while the other rested on the break. I won't say that it didn't hurt when it was healed, but it only lasted for a little bit, while Raven's would last for a week.

After about two minutes my leg was completely healed. I opened my eyes just in time to see Raven gasp silently in pain. After her initial response, though, her mask went back up. I closed my eyes quickly before she could see I was watching her moment of weakness.

"You can open your eyes now." She said sarcastically, but I could hear the relief in her voice thinking that I hadn't seen her in pain. I opened my eyes and saw that she only had her weight on one leg. I could tell that she wasn't going to be able to heal me properly if she stayed on the floor.

"Rae, why don't you sit up here with me while you heal my ribs?" She must have been in a lot of pain because she agreed and crawled up.

"Do I have to close my eyes for this one too?" I asked.

"No, I don't think that this one is going to hurt that badly." She put her hands on my chest and closed her eyes. A blue light began to glow from her hands. I never really noticed that before, I don't know how I couldn't since her hands usually glow black. I watched as her brow furrowed and then it hit me. She's beautiful.

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**Rae's POV**

I really wasn't looking forward to healing a broken leg. I had never really healed an injury this bad. We had usually been lucky so far. Most the time I could stop any harm by simply encasing whoever was going to be pummeled with a bubble, but I was caught up in fighting Kitten's stupid moths. I feel so bad that I hadn't been there to save Beast Boy. That's why I had gotten so mad a t Robin for continuously apologizing, it was my fault too and I should have been there saying sorry right along with him.

I told him to close his eyes, not because it was going to hurt, but because I didn't know how bad it was going to hurt me. I didn't want Beast Boy to see me in pain, then he would never come to me again. I was glad that he had closed his eyes because it _hurt_. Not like healing bruises or cracked ribs, I had done those plenty of times. It was almost more than I could handle. Fire shot through my legs and I almost collapsed.

"You can open your eyes now." I was so glad that he hadn't seen how much pain I was in.

"Rae, why don't you sit up here with me while you heal my ribs?" he asked. I was in to much pain to yell at him for using that stupid nickname and to tired to care that I would be so close to him. I crawled up and sat next to him. I put my hands on his chest, closed my eyes, and started to heal him. I could feel the muscles in his chest and his breath on my face. He smelled like catnip, why I don't know, but I liked it. Then it hit me, he's really cute.


	3. not a chapter

I'm really sorry that this is taking so long, but I'm having a bit of writer's block and the fact that I just got a new job...so...if anyone would like to give me ideas, I'll dedicate a chapter to you okay! ; p


	4. Too Much Pain

a/n: still sadly don't own anything Teen Titans...do I really have to do this before _every_ chapter? Okay can we just say that from now on it shall be common knowledge that I don't and won't own anything from Teen Titans and I will not try to make any money off of this...okay, now that that is done; here are the shout outs to the people who reviewed! See? If you review, then you get recognized!

Moving Mountains: Thank you so much for reading my fic, it's my first TT one; and I'm starting to really enjoy writing it.

Agent of the Divine One: Well Beast Boy isn't really stupid so I don't think that he can do something really bad, plus there will be no lemons or anything like that so if that is what you were referring to, yeah there will be none of that.

Shade Spitfire: Yeah I don't know, I've read so many where they have Beast Boy smelling like a wet dog and I just think that's kinda gross and I really don't see how, even if you are in love, you could ever find that attractive or in any way pleasant. I used Catnip because I have cats and I really like the smell of it. Also I wanted to tie in his animal nature, but I didn't want it to be something like wet dog!

BlackbirdXx: Thank you so much for reading, I'm glad to hear that people are liking it so far.

ChocolateSoGOOD: I find it really hard to do a romance when you only see one person's point of view, because often times I really want to put something in from the other person's mind and it just doesn't fit with how I'm writing the story.

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**Chapter Three**

I had wrapped my arms around her while she was healing me to keep her from falling backwards. I could tell it was taking a lot out of her. She finally finished, but I didn't let go. She didn't move away either, so I pulled her a little closer. No sooner had I done that that the alarm went off. I was afraid to look down. What if the only reason she was letting me hold her was because she had passed out when she was healing me and I never noticed.

"Raven, are you okay? Does it hurt too bad? If it does I'll just tell Robin that you can't come because you have to meditate or something." I asked cautiously.

"No, I'm fine." She said a little harshly. Well at least she wasn't passed out. She pushed herself away from me and swung her legs off of the table. I won't say that I wasn't disappointed. She was about to jump down, when I saw her hesitate. I could tell she was waiting for me to leave so she could get down as best she could. I wasn't going to leave her to hurt herself trying to get off a table.

She must have really been hurting if she wasn't just flying out of here. I didn't even ask, I just got off the table and scooped her up into my arms. She was a lot lighter than I would have thought. I heard her gasp, but I didn't know if it was because I had picked her up or if I had jostled her leg. I was hoping it was the former.

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I felt Beast Boy's arms encircle my back and usually I would slap his hands away, but right now I needed those arms more than I would let myself believe. I finished healing him, but I couldn't move I was in so much pain. When I had healed cracked and even broken ribs, it had never really been that big of a deal I had healed them and had been a little sore for awhile no big deal. With a broken leg added to it, though, I thought I was going to faint. I almost did too.

I felt him pull me a little closer and my heart started to go double time. Then the alarm went off and I could feel Beast Boy sag in disappointment. I have to admit it boosted my self esteem to know that Beast Boy was disappointed that he couldn't hold me for long.

"Raven, are you okay? Does it hurt too bad? If it does I'll just tell Robin that you can't come because you have to meditate or something." I could tell that he was treading carefully. For some reason it made me a little angry.

"No, I'm fine" I replied a little harsher than necessary. I pushed him away from me and instantly regretted it. I wanted the warmth that his body had lent mine. I wasn't going to let him know that, though, so I just swung my feet off of the table and waited for him to leave. He didn't though, I thought when he got off the table that he was going to leave, but instead he picked me up. I gasped from the unexpectedness of it all. I never let anyone touch me and here is Beast Boy picking me up! I didn't squirm or anything, though. Not that I didn't want to, I just didn't have the strength.

"Wow, you must be really exhausted if you haven't thrown me out a window by now." I could tell that he was trying to lighten the mood.

"There's no way that you are going to go fighting. I'll put you in your room and tell Robin that you were too tired to be of any use." It was weird to have Beast Boy be serious. I don't think that I liked it very much. I wanted to prove to him that I was not weak and that I could fight so I levitated myself out of his arms and touched down on the floor.

"I'm fine Beast Boy, I can fight. Go and tell the others that I'll be there in a few." I could tell that he didn't want to leave me, but I insisted. Finally he left and I slowly made my way to the T-car.

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I didn't want to let her go and fight, but it's not like I really had a choice or anything, right? I didn't have any sort of claim on her; I wasn't her boyfriend, and I certainly wasn't her best friend. If I had just insisted she never went, though, what happened next would have never happened.

We were in the middle of it all with Red X and Cinderblock. I couldn't figure out why Red X was with Cinderblock since Red X is kind of a loner, but then Robin gave us all a very good reason; Slade. We didn't know what his plan was and we still don't, but it didn't really matter because we got our butts handed to us.

Parts of the team would come to Raven all bloodied and bruised and each time I wanted to tell her not to heal them, but she continued to do it. She would pull them into an alleyway while I fought off whoever she had been fighting previously; I could at least protect her in that way. Each time she came out of that alleyway, she looked worse and worse.

Amazingly Robin hadn't come to her at all since the beginning of the fight. Usually him fighting Red X got him pretty beat up, but he must have been practicing extra hard since the last time. I hadn't been injured either, but I wasn't planning on being in that position again. Finally Red X got Robin pretty bad and Star carried him over to Raven.

He looked horrible, his face was a mess, and I saw a broken wrist and some pretty deep gashes across his legs. This was going to be the worst for Raven, but Robin was in such bad shape that I didn't even look at her. I grabbed him from Star and brought him into the alley myself. Raven followed me.

"You aren't even going to complain about me healing him?" She asked.

"Raven look at him! He is in the worst shape I've ever seen him! If you don't heal him now, he could die." I whispered to her. I could tell that she was in a lot of pain, but Robin's life was in danger. We needed our leader and I could save him, there was no way that I was going to let him die because I might like Raven a little more than friend wise.

"Okay, but don't watch, it could be bad." She replied. I said fine and turned around, but turned back around when I was sure that she was healing him. I watched as her blue healing aura enveloped Robin's body. That light didn't hide what was happening to her though. I could see that Robin's wounds were transforming to her body. At first it was just bruises, and then a cut formed above her eye, and the gashes that were all over Robin's legs were now on hers.

I couldn't keep myself from gasping out loud. This hadn't happened as far as I knew when she usually healed. She didn't stop, though, she just kept on healing. I could see that she was starting to bleed badly.

"Raven, stop! He's healed enough now! Stop before you hurt yourself!" That was the stupidest thing I could have said, she had been hurting herself for us since she had met us.

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When Beast Boy brought Robin to me, I didn't know what to do. I knew that I was already at my limit, but what he said next, that he could die if I didn't heal him, then it didn't matter, at that point I had to save him. I was scared to though, I was already in a lot of pain. That was why I didn't fight as much as I usually do. Instead I hid in an alley while everyone else was getting their butt's kicked.

The best I could do was snap at Beast Boy, and I felt bad for doing it immediately afterwards.

"You aren't even going to complain about me healing him?" I could see the pain in his eyes, and it tore me to pieces.

"Raven look at him! He's in the worst shape I've ever seen him! If you don't heal him now, he could die." I could tell that Beast Boy was doing his best to be brave. I could feel the emotions coming off of him in waves. It was especially strong at the moment; loyalty, fear, and an emotion that I couldn't read...indecision?

"Okay, but don't watch, it could be bad." Bad was an understatement. I knew that it could end very badly if I didn't do this exactly right. I could kill myself from healing him, or worse, kill him. I didn't care, though I knew that our team would die without a leader, we needed him alive, and I was the only person that could make that happen.

I started to heal him and immediately I could feel the effects of my healing. I could feel the bruises forming and my flesh being torn open. This had never happened before and I was scared, but at this point I couldn't stop. It wasn't that I couldn't stop because he wasn't healed yet, I couldn't stop even if I wanted to. Then I heard Beast Boy's voice.

"Raven, stop!He's healed enough now! Stop before you hurt yourself!" That was ironic, but scary too. I could hear the fear in his voice, but I smiled inside because I had been hurting myself for them since I met them.

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a/n: ohhhhhh cliff hanger! Sorry, but at least I wrote this chapter right! I have this next chapter planned out, so it should go smoothly, or it could not, you never know with me...sorry. That's what you get for reading my story though.


	5. Realizations

a/n: This chapter is dedicated to sorrowbyrd's sister, sorry I don't know your name, but here is a chapter just for you! ; p

Happy Birthday!

Hope that it was everything that you've ever wished for!

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**Chapter Four**

"Is she going to be okay?" I asked Cyborg. He looked so worried. I knew that he saw her as his little sister and that he was just as, if not more, worried about her as I was. It freaked me out so badly when I saw all of Robin's wounds come up on her flesh. It was so scary and painful for me to watch her go through all that pain.

"I don't know yet. Why didn't you tell me that this happened?" Cyborg yelled at me. That just showed how truly worried about her he was. He never yelled at me for no reason. Well, I guess this _was_ a valid reason.

"She made me swear that I wouldn't tell anyone, especially Star, because then no one would come to her to get healed ever again!" I looked at him with all the pain that I felt for seeing Raven in that hospital bed, wounded, and possibly dying.

"I'm sorry BB. I was just venting on you, I'm just really worried. I never knew that it hurt her to heal us. If I'd known..." he trailed off.

"Exactly! That's exactly what she didn't want! She didn't want anyone's pity because she was doing something to help the team!" It was my turn to yell at him. I felt bad for it, but I needed to let Cy know that Raven trusted me with her secret and that she didn't want to be seen as weak. He just looked at me and left. Finally I was alone with her.

"Raven, please get better. I'm sorry that I let your secret, but Cy started to freak out, thinking that this was Trigon or something. I had to calm him down somehow. I don't think that he'll tell anyone else, but I know that you'll still be mad at me. That's okay, though, as long as you're awake to be mad at me." I sat down next to her bed and looked at all the monitors attached to her. She was in really bad shape, if I hadn't physically stopped her from healing Robin, I don't know what would have happened.

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"Raven, stop! He's healed enough now! Stop before you hurt yourself!" I had to stop her, but I didn't know what I was going to do. I ran over and tried to pull her away, but she was stuck to him, I don't think she could stop. I realized that it was going to take a lot more than a string bean like me to pull her away, so I changed into my gorilla form. I had my massive arms around her even before I was done shifting.

"Come on Rae, pull away!" I gritted through my teeth. "Don't you do this to me! Don't you dare!" I don't know half of the stuff I was saying, I just knew that I was talking to her, trying to get her to let go. It must have worked too because after awhile she faded and went limp in my arms. I quickly shifted back and held her in my arms. I brushed some hair away from her face and traced her cheek with my fingertips.

"Come on Rae wake up now. Open your eyes. Don't you leave. You can't leave me now. You can't leave me with all these questions about you and me. I want to figure them out with you there next to me. Come on Rae, please let me see your eyes." I could feel her breathing so I knew that she wasn't fading too fast, but I could tell that she _was _fading. I just held her and rocked her, not knowing what else to do, until Cy came and took her from my arms.

"No! Give her back to me! I'll take her to the infirmary. You go and get everything ready." I shouted to Cyborg. He gave me a funny look, and then gently placed her back into my arms. He turned to leave, looked back and said, "Just because you like her doesn't mean that she means more to you than she does to me." He then left.

I carried her in the talons of my Pterodactyl form as carefully as I could. When I landed on the roof of the tower, I quickly shifted back and rushed her down to the infirmary.

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I rested my cheek against her hand, longing for any sign that she was awake and fine. Heck, I'd even willingly let her throw me out the window, if that meant that I could see her eyes again. I now knew why I always tried to get her to laugh, tried to see just a glimmer of a smile. I loved her. If this wasn't proof enough, then I don't know what would be. I can't imagine life without her. Never seeing her again, no, I just won't accept that.

I must have fallen asleep sitting by her bed because the next thing I knew, Robin was at my side gently shaking me awake.

"Hey, man can I sit with her for awhile? You've been here for a long time."

"Sure Robin, let me just get out of here for you." I stretched then, sauntered out of the room. I made my way up to the rooftop, Raven's favorite place to meditate, and just sat looking at the sun setting. It was beautiful, but it didn't compare to Raven. I just wanted to see her so badly. I decided that that was enough time for Robin and headed back to the infirmary.

I could just make out the murmur of his voice as I got closer and closer. I noticed something, though. He was whispering. That wasn't what caught my attention, though; it was the tone of his voice.

"Raven, that was very brave of you to heal me today. I don't know what I would do if I had lost you, though. Promise me that you'll never do anything that stupid ever again. I know that everyone expects me and Star to get together, but Raven, I knew that you were the one from the moment I saw you. We are a lot alike you know. We're both quiet, we're both focused on the task at hand, and we both like our silences. Raven, please wake up. I want to see your eyes, your beautiful amethyst eyes." He never noticed that I was there, listening to his declaration of love for Raven, my Raven.

How could he? Couldn't he respect my love for her? I walked in right when he was about to place a kiss on her forehead. He hesitated, and then did it anyways. I pulled him away from her so forcefully that I almost pulled him into the opposite wall.

"Beast Boy what is the matter with you?" Robin asked me incredulous.

"How could you?" I snarled. I didn't realize it, but I had shifted into a leopard. Snarling and growling I bared my teeth to him. I started to circle and all I could think was 'mine.' He was stealing my mate, my territory. I must protect what was mine. I could smell the fear coming off of him in waves, 'Good' I thought. Let him fear me; let him know that I've claimed her. No one else is allowed to touch her. I never heard Cyborg come up behind me, I was so intent on finding the right time to pounce and rip his jugular out.

He wrapped his bionic arms around me and wouldn't let go, no matter how hard I struggled. Finally I calmed down and shifted to my normal shape. In all the commotion, Robin had escaped. (a/n: sorry I kinda made Robin into a bit of a coward here, but it's for a reason) I was still spitting mad and a little bit in my animal mentality, so when Cy asked what was up with me I simply replied," He tried to steal my mate, my territory."

"BB, get out of your animal mind and think like the human being that I know you are. Listen to what you just said, your _mate_? Your _territory_? Raven is not yours, at least not yet. She hasn't chosen you or Robin. We don't know who she'll choose, and we might never find out if you keep acting like this. She needs a positive atmosphere in here, not one pumped full of Testosterone!" His little speech did it for me, my animal instincts flicked off and what had just happened flooded through my mind.

"Aw, man! I didn't just call Raven my mate did I? Good thing she didn't hear that, she'd throw me out the window for sure if she did." My face flushed. If Cyborg didn't know my feelings for Raven before, he sure did now, along with Robin. I hope I didn't just ruin a very important friendship.


	6. Follow the Leader?

a/n: Thank you _Agent of the Divine One_ and _Moving Mountains_ for reviewing me!

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**Chapter Five**

I was so shocked after what had just happened that I couldn't think. I had just branded Raven as my own. I felt foolish for doing it, but at the same time good too because now I knew that I was in love. I was truly, really, and unequivocally in love. There was no going beck on this one. It's funny because I thought that I had loved Tara, but I had never gotten that upset over her and I had never thought of her as my mate or my territory. I still couldn't exactly think straight, but I knew that I had to go and talk to Robin.

"Make sure you tell me if anything happens." I told Cy as I left to search for Robin. The first place I looked was the evidence room, and guess who I found? Yup, 'ol Robbie himself, not that I was surprised or anything; he always goes there when he's upset or something like that.

"Hey Robin, can I talk to you?" I asked timidly. His back was still facing me, but he turned his face to look at me.

"What do you want Garfield?" I was surprised; Robin had never called me Garfield! I knew then that we could never be friends like we used to be.

"I'm sorry about before, I got a little carried away."

"What? No animals coming after me this time? Or have you learned how to control yourself better this time?" His comment stung and I was hurt pretty badly, but I wasn't about to let him see that.

"Robin, you knew that I liked Raven, a lot. I can't believe that you wouldn't tell at least me that you liked her too."

"You have no business in my love interests. Anyway, I just proved myself right in my decision not to tell you. If Cy hadn't of pushed me out of that room, I probably would have been dead right now. I'm pretty sure Raven would have hated you for stooping to murder." He said venomously.

"Oh, come on Robin! I wouldn't have really killed you! Maimed you, maybe, but I could have never killed you! Besides, if you had told me, I don't think that I would have reacted that way. I was already in a protective mood since she healed you and passed out. I was already high strung! Can you really blame me?" I ranted at him.

"Yes, I think I can blame you." He replied and brushed past me. "Garfield, I'm not going to give up on her just because you have a crush on her. Unlike you, I really love her." He said on his way out. We'll leave it up to Raven who gets chosen, I'm sick of trying to reason with him.

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After my little encounter with Robin I went back to the infirmary. Raven was still lying in bed, motionless except for the rise and fall of her chest as she breathed. She was so beautiful. By now all her wounds had healed, Thank God. I guess she was going to be okay since her normal healing had kicked in. Right as I was about to sit down in a chair next to the bed, Star walked in.

"I'm so sorry friend Beast Boy, am I interrupting anything? I did not mean to intrude on your alone time with friend Raven." Star had a blush on her face as she exited the room. I didn't have the energy or the patience to explain everything to her. I just wanted to spend some uninterrupted time with Raven. I sat down in the chair and just sighed.

"Raven, please hurry up and get better. I need you here beside me so I can try and get everything figured out." I laid my head on her stomach and just started to weep. I cried for her, I cried for me, and I cried for my lost friendship with Robin. I don't usually cry, but this was one of those times when everything was just crashing in on me; that just seemed to be my only outlet.

I was surprised out of my musings when I felt Raven shift underneath me. Was she awake? I looked up in fear and expectation only to be disappointed, her eyes were still closed.

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I woke up to pressure on my stomach and the sound of someone sobbing. At first I thought that it was Star because I didn't think that anyone else would cry like that over me. I shifted a little to see who it was; all I needed to see was the green hair and my heart leapt into my throat. It was Beast Boy and he was sobbing. I didn't know what to do, so I quickly laid my head back down and left my eyes open just enough that I could barely see his face.

I saw him look up with such a look of pure joy that I wanted to open my eyes just for him, but something held me back. His face fell when he saw that my eyes were still closed. Then I heard him speak.

"Raven, when I first met you, I was scared of you. You were really dark with your little glares and being all antisocial. Then I got to know you and I realized that you are normal just like everyone else. Well okay, not everyone else, but as normal as expected. I think that's when I first started to fall in love with you."

His comment stopped my heart. Love, did he just use that word? That's not possible; no one could love me.

"I never knew that is what I felt for you until last night. When I saw you taking on Robin's wounds it tore me up inside. Then when we didn't even know if you would survive through the night, well that's when I really realized that I loved you. I couldn't imagine a day with out you, let alone an eternity."

I was still unsure of my feelings for Beast Boy, but his little talk touched my heart. I felt my hand reach up and cup his face. I opened my eyes in surprise. I'm thinking that we both held the same expression. He immediately started to blush along with me.

"Ahem, well I guess you heard all of that, huh?" He asked.

"Um...yeah I did, but Beast Boy; I still don't know how I feel for you. I mean I know that I feel attraction for you, but I don't know anything about love." I replied uncertainly.

"Can I teach you?" He asked huskily. He didn't even wait for an answer before he captured my lips with his. I was so surprised that I didn't know what to do, push him away or hold him tighter? I decided to go with the first choice. Not because I wasn't enjoying what was happening, but because I was so unsure of it all. I looked up into his eyes and saw pain there. I really felt that I should explain why I pushed him away, but before I could, he dashed out of the room.

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I was such an idiot for kissing her! How could I have done something like that? I know why I did it, but it didn't make up for the fact that I did it. I kissed her because I wanted Raven to know how much I cared for her before Robin did. She just pushed me away though. That means that she doesn't care for me like that doesn't it?

I was contemplating this whole situation while pacing in front of my mirror. An hour earlier Cy had busted into my room yelling at me to get to the infirmary because Raven was up. I calmly told him that I had already seen her and now I just wanted to be left alone. Thankfully, he headed out without any questions.

Maybe she would think that it was all part of a dream and forget about it. No, that was highly unlikely. I didn't know what to do; I had never been in a situation like this before. I mean Tara and I had liked each other, but we had never gotten to the kissing stage. I was so confused and lost, but I knew that kissing Raven made me feel like I had never felt before.

Maybe I wouldn't let it slide. I wanted to pursue Raven before Robin went and swept her off of her feet. I had to fight fairly though. I don't think that she heard his little confession, while she heard mine. That means that she had no idea of Robin's feelings. That gave me the advantage though, didn't it? It was an advantage that I had every intention of using.

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I called myself all sorts of names after he left the room, but I didn't have a chance to really think about it all. Minutes after Beast Boy ran from the room, Cy burst in. He abruptly turned around and ran out again, though. When he finally came back he explained that Beast Boy gave him strict instructions to inform him the second that I woke up.

I was genuinely flattered. That just proved that he really cared about me. Cy didn't know it, but he was playing a major part in this little soap opera by telling me that. I felt my face flush and turned it away from him. I quickly jerked it back to face the door when I heard a loud bang. In rushed Robin and Star.

"Glorious! Friend Raven is well again!" shouted Star, she then twirled around and left; probably to make one of her infamous pudding creations. I shuddered at the thought; hopefully I would be spared the horrors of it because I was still recovering.

"Hey Cy, can I talk to Raven for a minute?" Robin asked quietly. I was puzzled by the tone in his voice. "Raven I'm really glad that you are alright, but I have to tell you that I was really worried. You didn't have to come yesterday. Beast Boy told us everything after we got you home." He started off after Cyborg left. I swear I'm going to kill that...erg! There are no words insulting enough to fit him right now!


End file.
